CAMPAIGNERS have spoken of their relief after Angus Council agreed to partly fund the running of Barry Mill as a tourist attraction for the next three years.
Councillors unanimously decided to back a plan which sees the local authority enter into partnership with the National Trust for Scotland (NTS) to keep the 19th century mill open after it was threatened with closure in April.
Melanie Coleman, from
the campaign group Friends of Barry Mill, is pleased that the mill will now have a future as a tourist attraction.
She said: "The Friends of Barry Mill, as well as the people of the Carnoustie area, are very pleased and relieved that the Council agreed to the funding plan, to keep Barry Mill open.
"It would have been a great loss to the community as well as a loss of an important tourist venue."
Earlier this year the mill was named as one of 11 loss-making sites by the NTS and was facing closure unless the trust could find alternative funding.
The trust's new partnership with Angus Council will see the authority underwrite any losses of up to £15,000 a year at the mill for the next three years in a bid to ease the current £30,000 a year deficit.
The council also aims to work closely with the Friends of Barry Mill to increase visitor numbers and raise more awareness of the mill, which is the only working water mill under load in Scotland.
The local authority admits that the current figures of 2,000 visitors per year does not offer a sustainable case for long term support but hopes the numbers will increase in this opportunity for development.
Melanie says since the campaign to save Barry Mill started, there has been an increase in the number of tours and events at the building.
She added: "It is really a matter of making the mill more visible in the public eye, as a place to visit. One of our duties, as the Friends of Barry Mill, is to help advertise the mill, so that the public are aware of what is on offer there.
"We now plan to build on that foundation, and hopefully will create a venue for activities of all sorts that the locals and visitors will use and come back for.
"The Friends would like to extend a big thank you to the community, Angus Council, and our local councillors for the support they have shown, in recognising what an asset we have here."
